DL / CD (sold out)
Out Now
9 / 10
Welsh experimental noise pop artist releases his new album.
What is music? Chow Mwng claims that all sound is music or,
has the potential to become so. The
sound of bustling people or the sound of trains on the track has some sort of
repetition therefore by definition, is it music? It’s an interesting and valid
point and one which makes all forms of experimentalism in music acceptable when
this thought process is taken.
Ash Cooke, the man behind Chow Mwng (and formerly Pulco)
takes this whole philosophy on board and produces, if your mind will allow it,
some of the most fascinating music you will ever hear. As he explains, if you can accept that the
sound of windscreen wipers or wheels on the road have a rhythm that is unique
then you are halfway to accepting that it can be interpreted as music.
And so, the world of Chow Mwng opens up. The sound of children running down a corridor
or the sound of an egg whisk can, when married with other rhythms can become
music. It’s all down to individual perception
and understanding and once the concept is grasped then all types of musical output
can be accepted. We never criticised any
number of punk bands for not being able to play instruments so the idea of
avant garde music shouldn’t be any different.
From the first few seconds of Kong Replica, the opening
track on ULOT CA it is clear that this is no ordinary album. Cooke’s spoken word (for this is often his
chosen word of delivery) is incisive, often completely off-the-wall, sometimes
humorous and often enthralling. In the same
way that say, Laurie Anderson creates unpredictable musical landscapes so does
Chow Mwng and, the thin line between genius and madness is narrower than ever
before.
The repetitive squeak in the background of We Stole Your
Soul While You Slept underpins the manic sound and occasional bleeps and
squeaks running alongside the percussion (which could quite easily be a
mechanical toy monkey on a drum for all we know) make for eclecticism in its
most anarchic form.
Ukuleles rub shoulders with a ZX Spectrum (Google it, kids)
and the diversity of this album is free for all to see. Stop Feeding Me Emoji is sheer delight, a
collage of sounds and a plea to cease the use of those little icons that we all
love (?) and, Pop Music Is Dead extols
the state of the music industry and the lack of originality and innovation in today’s
industry.
Like Marmite, there is no middle ground with Chow Mwng, you
will either love it or hate it but one thing that is not open to question is
the true uniqueness that lies within.
ULOT CA is, in many ways a masterpiece, a landmark in the dirge that
floods the airwaves and consequently our minds and our souls, and when you hear
the yelps and screeches and grunts in final track Tara Of Banana then you will
appreciate that all sound is potentially music.
ULOT CA treads that genius/insanity path from track one to
twelve, often dipping its toe in either side.
Listen and be impressed.
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